Bloatick
Epsilon Army |role = Suicide attacker |useguns = Condensed toxic bomb |tier = 2 |techlvl = 5 |hp = 100 |armortype = Animal |speed = 10 |sight = 7 |cost = $400 |time = 0:09 (base 0:14) |multiplier = 0.65 |produced = Epsilon Barracks |req = Radar Spire |groundattack = 150-37.5 * 150% vs. Basic/Animal * 135% vs. Flak * 100% vs. Plate/Cyborg and Drone * 75% vs. Defensive Structure * 60% vs. (Very) Big Defensive Structure * 50% vs. Light and Medium * 40% vs. Light Structure and Heavy Structure * 25% vs. Heavy and Bloaticks * 20% vs. Big Light Structure, Big Heavy Structure and Tech Concrete Fortresses |range = 1.73, radius 3 |ability = * Detonates on attack * Explosion leaves poison clouds * Infantry killed by the weapon release poison clouds |notes = * Cannot be mind-controlled * Explodes when killed |artist = Machine |infantry = 1 }} The Bloatick (portmanteau of "bloat" and "tick") is an Epsilon creature that acts as a living bomb, which releases a deadly poison blast upon combustion or when killed, making it a dangerous creature to anything nearby. Official description One of the more curious and deviant "infantry" units produced by Epsilon, the quadrupedal creature known as the Bloatick is an artificial bio-mechanical organism which carries within itself glands that naturally secrete a highly explosive toxic substance. Bloaticks honor their namesake by violently discharging this condensed liquid towards enemies, inducing powerful explosions which annihilate infantry, vehicles and buildings alike, if the number of Bloaticks is large enough. The Allied and Soviet forces have quickly learned to take down large groups of Bloaticks from a distance.Epsilon Infantry page on the official Mental Omega website Overview Bloaticks, while possessing no attacks of their own aside from detonating their bodies and spreading their toxic payload over a small area, are nonetheless one of the most dangerous infantry units an Epsilon proselyte can field. Their Condensed Toxic Bomb is lethal against any infantry (including hero units) and can inflict serious damage to all kinds of structures. One thing worth noting is that they are a death sentence for any melee-oriented attacker. Units such as Attack Dogs, rogue Spooks, and Terror Drones will be destroyed almost instantly if they try to attack a Bloatick, as the creature will explode upon death and take their attacker with them. Once an Epsilon proselyte has access to a Cloning Vats, they become even easier to deploy en-masse, costing only $200 for one of these suicidal organisms. This makes it easier for them to break heavy defense lines and throw enemy forces into disarray if they lack the proper weapons to quickly take them down before they get within range. Because they do not cause friendly damage if they perish (unlike Crazy Ivans), Bloaticks can be sent in large swarms and their proselytes do not have worry about all of them exploding at once in an unwanted chain reaction. Scorpion Cell has access to an exclusive support power called the Bloatick Trap, which allows their proselytes to instantly summon three of the creatures at a designated position on the battlefield. This trick up their sleeve is particularly effective against sudden infantry ambushes or rampant hero units. Nonetheless, Bloaticks are rather ineffective against heavily armored tanks, and they often require large numbers to deal significant damage. Units with the appropriate anti-personnel weapons and decent range will also make easy target practice out of them. Appearances Act Two * The first mission where Bloaticks appear is Memory Dealer. A group of Bloaticks have fled the Epsilon base when it was captured by the Soviets, and took refuge in the nearby forest. Once discovered, the Bloaticks will fall under the player's control and become trainable. * Bloaticks will continuously spawn from Bloatick Tunnels in the missions Stone Cold Crazy, Fullmetal and Neuromancers until said tunnels are destroyed. * In Earthrise, Bloaticks are one of the few infantry units that are fully operational on the Moon. Cooperative * Bloaticks appear as enemies in Intoxicated. Exterminating them alongside all other wild Epsilon creatures in the city is the main mission objective. Challenges * In the Contagion Challenge, a swarm of Bloaticks will appear at the beginning of the game and destroy both the Tech Hospital and Tech Machine Shop located near the challengers' starting location, making this challenge the only one where the challengers have no easy access to unit auto-heal. Assessment Behind the scenes * The Bloatick's original SHP sprite is a public asset and can be used by other modders. The link can be found here. ** The name of the sprite is simply "Spider" and it is larger than the Bloatick uses. ** The author of the sprite mentions that the design is based on a sketch by El D34dlyto, and that the original idea was to make a cyborg APC. References zh:毒爆虱 Category:Infantry Category:Animals Category:Epsilon Army